It flows 38 km (24 mi),[2] generally south from the Awakino Stream, which rises on the Tutāmoe Range, to reach the Wairoa River on the eastern edge of Dargaville.

[3] The river is crossed by SH14[4] and the mothballed Dargaville Branch railway.

[5] The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "Bad creek",[6] which accords with a 1981 description of "a slow, meandering drain through willows, swamp and flax lands, with little interest" and lined with muddy stop banks.

[2] "Place name detail: Waikawau River".

This article about a river in the Northland Region is a stub.